Filling your Cup

We hear a lot about the importance of self care these days. The concept of “filling your own cup” so that you can be present to others is written about on many blogs and magazines. I wonder if there is another angle to approach the topic. What if we looked at the why behind filling your cup?

We are a relational people. There is no denying it. So the point of filling our cup is to share it with those around us. As a mother to four children I have to have a pretty full cup in order to have enough to go around. But this doesn’t mean I need more self care or more time by myself than the next person. It’s about the quality of what I bring to time of restoration. As I was doing balancing poses this week it occurred to me that balance is a huge part of this dance. It’s the moments when I get too focused on one side that I lose my center. Too much focus on the self alienates me from those around me; not enough focus on the self alienates me from my myself. Balance. It sounds like a simple fix, but isn’t that often the way it is?

A small pause in the morning to smell my cup of tea can be rejuvenating. An intentional rest mid yoga class can be restorative. A mindful shift from what is bothering me to what I am grateful for can be renewing. Filling my own cup never means I’m draining someone else’s. The fruit of filling my own cup should be seen in the way I live. A full cup is about more awareness of myself and those around me, more intention, more patience, more peace.

Maybe this week we can work to be attentive. To see that everyone is working to fill their own cup. Let’s make it a communal endeavor.

Pause, breath, notice and wonder.